Various types of fastener arrangements for securing two structures together are known in the art. Depending on the structures being connected, existing fasteners do not necessarily create a sufficient electrical bond between the structures to establish a grounded condition.
In the area of network equipment enclosure racks, for example, standard screw-type fasteners may be employed for mounting patch panels to racks. Such rack/patch panel systems manage and organize cables extending to and from electrical equipment and/or to and from other patch panels.
To ensure that these types of systems are grounded, separate grounding wires are traditionally used. The grounding wires are attached at one end to a stud or post welded to the patch panel and to a grounding bus bar mounted to the rack at the other end. The ground wires can be attached separately to the grounding bus bar or attached daisy chain style, in which case only the last patch panel is connected to the grounding bus bar. In either case, the process is labor intensive and use of the stud or post requires a secondary manufacturing step.
There is a need for a fastener that can effectively ground rack/patch panel systems.